Merry Christmas in July, everyone! Today is officially our last PDayhere in the CCM, and I can't quite wrap my mind around it. I am soexcited, and downright heartbroken to leave this campus. I have cometo love the environment, the teachers, the staff members, the food,the schedule... all the things so so much. I have the worst time withgoodbyes.

This week went by so quickly (didn't I just say that last week?)! Myfavorite part of this week definitely was preparing a special musicalnumber with my District. We sang Mas Cerca Dios, de Ti (Nearer My God,to Thee) in a Devotional on Sunday night. I have to say it was prettyfreaking fantastic. We sang it for our teachers, and they seem to lovehearing us sing. Hermano Meza brought his wife and daughter in againfor one of our lessons, and he asked us to sing again for his wife. Itwas really sweet.

Spanish is coming along. I understand a little more every day. I don'tfeel like I can say much, but looking back on where I started, it'spretty miraculous to see where I am now. I probably sound like a threeyear old when I speak... but I've learned three years worth of Spanishin 6 weeks. Pretty neat, eh?

Another exciting accomplishment: I'm sooo close to finishing the Bookof Mormon. Did you know that if you read 26 pages a day (that's flatout reading... no marking) you can finish the whole thing in 3 weeks.And if you want to keep up your reading, you can read 26 pages a dayfrom the Pearl of Great Price and the New Testament in another 3weeks. I haven't had time to read that much with everything else wehave to study, but it's cool to know for future reading. I'lldefinitely be done by the time we leave.

We leave on Tuesday morning. Can I say that again? We leave the CCM tobe missionaries in Lima, Peru in 5 days! We have 2 more languageclasses, one more devotional, one more Fireside, one more day ofproselyting, and one long day of orientation... and then we get tohead out on a bus to our mission. I don't even have words. I'm goingto miss the scary showers that can only be scalding hot or ice cold,my daily breakfast of an egg with cheese on fresh baked rolls, yogurtwith flakes, and bread with strawberry jam, the ice cream the cooksgave us three times a week because they knew it was our favorite, mysweet sweet teachers that have made such a deep impression on me, themaintenance men that so diligently clean and maintain our campus everyday and never fail to make us smile down the hallway, the crazylaundry days, the trips to the temple... (I want to go back and listoff more food, but I don't want to sound fat). I'm really going tomiss this beautiful campus and the people in it. Pero, esta bien.

I wish I could write more... We are having a really hard time with theInternet today. I'll try to get some pictures out! Oh, and thank youso much for all of the sweet emails! I'm excited to go and read themall tonight. I'm not sure when my PDay will be in the field, but Ihope I can reply to you all soon!

This week has gone by soooo fast. But it was really good. I can't believe that we have already been here for an entire month. Our group that came in are now the "seniors" of the CCM campus, and it's funny how we all feel so much older than the new missionaries. It's kind of fun to see how far we've all come in just a few weeks. Less than 2 weeks to go!

On Saturday, we all went proselyting. Talk about a crazy experience. Hermana Haws and I went out with one of the maestros, Hermano Hinostroza, and were walking the streets of the Lima East mission. We were all asked to help get contacts for the missionaries in the area. I was astounded at how receptive the people were. The area we were tracting was so poor. There were sidewalks, but the concrete was all broken. Most of the roads were dirt. There was garbage in all of the streets. We had to have seen more than 50 dogs roaming around. They all seemed pretty calm, and didn't really have any interest in the people around them. The houses are so small here. They are all lined up right next to each other with no yards whatsoever. A lot of them are painted bright colors, but the doors are almost all gated off. Instead of knocking doors, you use coins to hit on the gates. Almost everyone was willing to hear what we had to say, especially because we were North Americans trying to speak Spanish. I couldn't decide if they found it humorous, but most of them were trying to help us with what we wanted to say. The first family we talked to was sitting in front of their home with all six of their young children. They gladly accepted pamphlets on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a Book of Mormon. It was so encouraging to start our day with that. We ended up placing 3 Books of Mormon, a stack of pamphlets, and we got 5 contacts for the missionaries. It was an amazing experience to say the least. My fire was definitely rekindled as I came to realize how ready these people are to hear the gospel.

On Sundays we watch all sorts of videos from General Authorities. This particular Sunday, we watched an astounding MTC devotional from Elder Holland. That man's words can always cut straight to my heart. What I gathered from his words was that our experiences as missionaries are once in a lifetime. There should not be a day that goes by that we don't think about our missions once we get home. Being on a mission is about as close to "real life" as we're ever going to get, and we should never encourage a missionary to be more "normal" and to be more like they were before they left. A mission should change a person, and it needs to be permanent.

This week our District has gotten so close. On Tuesday, we were the only District outside during our normal hour of physical activity. We all ended up playing soccer together. I might actually end up enjoying playing soccer by the time I get home (crazy, I know). I don't think I've ever had that much fun running around and laughing. It's amazing to see how so many people from such different backgrounds can come together and learn to love each other so dearly. That night, our teacher had to leave because he was taking a final exam for one of his college classes. Hermano Lazo substituted for our language class. After we covered the material we were assigned, he was definitely inspired as he shared some very dear mission experiences with us. He was crying, and so was the entire district (including the Elders). I am always amazed when people are so in tune with the Spirit that they can be directed to speak the words that we so desperately need to hear. Many testimonies were born and strengthened that night. I know that some amazing missionaries are being prepared here in the CCM.

Yesterday we resolved our immigration. We drove out to the other side of the city to what seems to be the Peruvian equivalent of the MVD. We were there for about 5 hours, and we pretty much just signed a few documents, and had them approved by some nice man at a window. But we should all be legal now! So that's exciting.

I'm so grateful for the experiences we are all having here in Peru. I'm so nervous and excited to get out into the field to work with these blessed people. I am absolutely certain that there are angels among these missionaries.

This week has gone by so quickly. I feel like I was just writing my last PDay email. We are all starting to settle in as missionaries and we have a pretty good routine down. Our district has made some goals on focusing during our study time (that's been a struggle, because talking about home can be so tempting). But I think we've all benefitted greatly from the efforts we're putting forth.This week was especially trying with my language study. My teachers have noticed that I don't speak very much during our lessons for our "investigators." The beloved Hermano Granados had a solution that he used his North American companions while he was out in the field. He made me teach an entire lesson by myself. In Spanish. Hermana Haws was only allowed to bear her testimony at the end. Talk about stressful. I was really overwhelmed by the request, so I asked for a priesthood blessing from the Elders in my District, and my teacher Hermano Granados. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood.

When I taught my lesson, my heart was calmed and I was able to teach. I read most of what I had to say from my paper, I couldn't pronounce everything correctly, and I didn't understand everything that was being said to me. But I did it. And that's a start. I am grateful that my teachers understand my weaknesses and have been inspired to help me, even if I didn't particularly like their tactics initially. It was an experience to remember.We have been waiting on immigration hooplah for the last few weeks. We were supposed to go work on that today in the city, but we've been postponed for another week. Last week the Peruvian FBI came and took all of our pictures and fingerprints. We received our travellers' visas, but we're still working on getting the long-term stuff in order. I'll let you know about that when we know. At this point we are just doing what we're told.Um, let's see... Today we went to a less "American" style store called Metro. It was like an Ikea Walmart Grocery Store. It's three stories tall, and has delicious food (cakes, ice cream, meatballs, sandwiches, etc.). I am very pleased to tell you all that I have found Dr. Pepper, and I am overjoyed. It was a momentous occasion. I have also picked up some Inka Cola (sp?), which is a weird drink that tastes like bubble gum cream soda. I haven't decided how I feel about it yet.

It's crazy to see how chaotic the city is. The traffic laws here are more like traffic suggestions. Everyone swerves in and out of traffic, and instead of using turn signals they honk. So everyone is constatly honking. The buses are pretty crazy too. We probably had 50 people packed onto a bus that was designed to hold about 30. Quite the adventure, to say the least. To cross the street, you literally just walk into the street and hope that the cars stop. Most of the people are very nice. The women like to hug you and kiss you on the cheek.We met a really sweet old man today in the temple that was probably in his 90s. Everyone in the temple is always so gracious to the missionaries. This was the first week that we went through an entire session in Spanish. It was a little overwhelming, but they have cards to read off of for the North Americans. We definitely treasure the time we have in the temple.My classes have been going pretty well. I really love our teachers so much. Hermano Granados makes us go run outside around the soccer field if we are tired... We found that funny and frustrating at the same time since all of the Hermanas were running around in skirts. Hermano Meza is bringing his 3 month old daughter, Vania, to class tomorrow. I'm sooo excited to meet her. We've seen pictures, and she is so precious.The weather has been really nice this week. There was lots of sunshine. I dare say, I might actually be tan by the time I get home. (Pretty hard to believe, I know.)Hermana Haws and I have become much more unified in our teaching. Our district is getting to be so close. We're sad and excited that we're already halfway through our CCM experience.Until next week!Hermana Schroader

This week has been a roller coaster to say the least. I've had some of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had, along with some of the most trying.

Earlier this week we actually saw the sun. You would think we had never seen sunlight. We literally spent all of our spare time outside studying. My neck is now a beautiful shade of scarlet, but it was worth it for the Vitamin D. It really does make all the difference in everyone's mood.

We had a devotional with an area seventy last Thursday. His name was Elder Soliz, and he spoke about our important work as missionaries.

On Sunday, Peru celebrated the dedication of the 100th stake in the country. (In 2006, there were 50 stakes). Elder D. Todd Christofferson came to set apart the new stake president and partake in the celebration. We didn't get to partake in the partying and such, but Elder Christofferson paid us a visit here at the CCM and graciously shared some very uplifting words. I was kind of bummed that he spoke in Spanish because we had to listen to the watered down translated version. But even watered down words from a prophet can pierce your heart. I'm very grateful that he took the time out of his busy schedule to come and teach a few missionaries. He explained to us that the Quorum of the 12 Apostles has an important call to spread the gospel to all corners of the earth. Since we have been called and set apart as missionaries of the church, we are literally companions to the Apostles. That definitely put a new perspective on the work for me.

I'm getting to the point in my language study where I can't use a whole lot of proper grammar in English, and I still don't know much of anything in Spanish. Talk about frustrating. Our teachers are very patient though, and I have seen more of their compassion and their love for us this week. I think they can definitely see how frustrated we are, and it's difficult for them because they speak very little English. But with our little bit of Spanish, and their little bit of English, we're progressing. It kind of feels like we're being dragged behind a train. A very fast, very Spanish train.

We finished teaching our "investigator" Carlos last Friday. He's, uh, not getting baptized. But we learned a lot in our teaching experience. It's very difficult to know how to teach someone that you want to love and help in a language you don't know. It's difficult to invite the Spirit into a lesson that you can't really teach without confusion from both parties. But Hermana Haws and I are learning as we go.

This week we began teaching two new "investigators." Alejandro, as played by Hermano Grenados, has recently lost his father and was recommended to the missionaries by his friends that are members. Victor, as played by Hermano Meza, has a young family and is a nutritionist. He doesn't believe in God, per se. But his friend is the bishop of a ward in the area and he agreed to meet with the missionaries. It's been a struggle to know how to meet the needs of our investigators, and both of my teachers said that I definitely need to speak more in our lessons. Hermana Haws has been doing a lot of the talking because she has taken Spanish courses in the past and can actually form sentences. I kind of wish the gift of tongues was an instantaneous sort of thing. It would be much less trying that way.

Today we had a fun celebration at the CCM for the Fourth. After we got back from a temple session (which was fantastic, btw..) we had a big buffet for lunch. There was roast and chicken and ham and potatoes and sweet rolls and pie and cake and ice cream. The cafeteria was decked out in red white and blue streamers and balloons. All of the workers were wearing flag bandanas. It was really sweet that they celebrated with us. :)

We found out this week that our mission has been split. There will now be the Lima Norte Mission and the Iquitos Mission. Iquitos had all of the jungle that we were going to be teaching in, so now our mission is just city. All of the other Hermanas in my district explained that this was an answer to their prayers and they felt it was so right, but I'm really pretty bummed. I'm just trusting that the Lord knows what He's doing.

Since our little district is pretty much in the same room together all day, every day, germies like to spread around awful quick. One Hermana has an awful awful cold that sounds like death. The rest of us have passed around some sore throats and sniffles. I've been fighting off some pretty mild stuff, and we've been told to try to let it run it's course as we're getting used to Peru. I'm keeping up on fluids and vitamins, so I'm hoping I'll be able to fight it off pretty quick. Fingers crossed.

It's fun to hear about all the goings on back at home. I'm thinking about you all when the CCM let's me have enough time to think. They definitely keep us jam packed with things to do here.

Sorry if I don't get around to replying to everyone's messages. We only have an hour of internet time a week, so I take pictures of all of your emails and read them when we get back to our dorms. I really do appreciate all of your love and support.